Democracy in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Democracy was 4 in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
4
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
87th
of 176 countries
All-time high
5
in 2003
All-time low
0
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Democracy in Sierra Leone, 1900–2025

012345190019622025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for democracy in Sierra Leone is 4, measured in 2025.

The figure is down 20.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, democracy in Sierra Leone peaked at 5 in 2003 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1900.

That places Sierra Leone 87th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0 0 0 10
1910s 0 0 0 10
1920s 0 0 0 10
1930s 0 0 0 10
1940s 0 0 0 10
1950s 0 0 0 10
1960s 1.8 0 3 10
1970s 2.1 0 3 10
1980s 3 3 3 10
1990s 0.9 0 3 10
2000s 3.8 0 5 10
2010s 5 5 5 10
2020s 4.5 4 5 6

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 87 Albania 4 compare
  2. 87 Benin 4 compare
  3. 87 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 compare
  4. 87 Indonesia 4 compare
  5. 87 Mexico 4 compare
  6. 87 Zambia 4 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is democracy in Sierra Leone?
Democracy in Sierra Leone was 4 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest democracy recorded in Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 5 in 2003.
What is the lowest democracy recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1900.
How does Sierra Leone rank for democracy?
Sierra Leone ranks 87th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is democracy rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is down 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Sierra Leone data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Democracy
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 29,594 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Political regime of a country using the Regimes of the World classification by political scientists Anna Lührmann, Marcus Tannenberg and Staffan Lindberg, including ambiguous categories.